Speaker's Series Nov. 2

Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation & Rhetoric along with the PhD in Argumentation Studies at the University of Windsor invite you to a talk by

Dr. David Godden

Michigan State University

“No room for compromise: Resisting the shift to negotiation”

Abstract: In “Splitting a difference of opinion: The shift to negotiation” (Argumentation, 2018, 32: 329-350) Jan Albert van Laar and Erik Krabbe claim that it is sometimes reasonable (i.e., rationally permissible) to shift from a critical discussion to a negotiation in order to settle a difference of opinion. They argue that their proposal avoids the fallacies of bargaining—“substituting offers for arguments” (340)—and middle ground—mistaking a compromise for a resolution (346). Against this permissive policy for shifting to negotiation, we argue that: such shifts are generally unreasonable; their policy avoids neither fallacy; and their policy structurally encourages standpoint overstatement: a type of strategic maneuvering that constitutes a rational / argumentative hazard.